Dr Bashir, I Presumed
by cassandra quail
Summary: Garak is left reeling after spending the night with Dr Bashir, but when Julian doesn't seem to remember the evening, he comes to a disturbing realisation.


Note: Originally written for BlueManta on AO3 for the Space Swap Two challenge.

* * *

Garak was gazing in wonder at the human struggling to get back into his Starfleet uniform at the foot of his bed. Vivid, gorgeous memories of their evening were swirling around in the Cardassian's head, and he whispered the name, "Julian." The beautiful, very human name, which nevertheless felt oh-so-wonderful as it reverberated around his mouth.

"I hope you don't plan on telling anyone about this, Garak," said Julian, adjusting his uniform. The Cardassian watched his hands closely through the dim light, remembering the warmth of their caress. The station was too cold most of the time, but in Julian's arms the temperature seemed just perfect.

"My lips are sealed," he said, his lips stretching into a playful smile. "I only hope we can do it again some time."

Julian gave a brief, slightly awkward smile and said, "We'll see." He started towards the door.

"Are you leaving so soon?" There was too much dismay in Garak's voice; he felt ashamed of himself for letting his guard down, even after allowing the doctor to see him at his most vulnerable.

"I'm sorry. I'm on duty again in four hours. I need to have a wash and a rest in my own quarters," he said. His voice was much colder now, and Garak's heart sank. He wondered if he had done something wrong somehow. Perhaps the young man was embarrassed; after all, he too had bared his very soul that evening.

"Well then, perhaps I'll see you for brunch soon?"

"Perhaps." Julian clapped his hands together and turned around, instructing the door to open. "Right, well. It was nice to see you tonight, Garak."

"You too," the Cardassian called sleepily after him, though he was disappointed that their goodbyes had been so fleeting. As the door closed and the room sank back into darkness, Garak rolled over in bed, breathing deeply as he lay with his face in the Julian-shaped imprint in the pillow. He hoped very much that this wouldn't be the last time the doctor stopped by his quarters at night.

* * *

It had been a long time since Garak had last seen Julian properly, _alone_ ; they hadn't even met to check up on each other after that awful internment camp. Each day had stretched out tortuously as he mentally ran over every seemingly insignificant detail of that wonderful evening. He couldn't recall having been rude while they ate dinner on the promenade, and he could only remember being the perfect gentleman in the bedroom afterwards. And yet, he knew something was wrong with Julian as he'd slipped away that night.

Unexpectedly, he'd received a message from Julian this morning, inviting him to brunch. He'd spent the morning cleaning and rearranging his shop, doing all the tasks he liked the least to keep his anxiety at bay. It was so unlike him and all too human to be feeling so mixed up. His insides were churning and he felt horribly sick; he wouldn't be able to manage brunch at this rate.

The walk down the promenade to Quark's seemed to stretch out further than ever. Twice Garak turned around, ready to abandon the poor doctor and come down with some mysterious illness that would keep him tucked away in bed, but he managed to pull himself together. He noted that his behaviour was most unbecoming of a Cardassian; at least there were none of his people around to see him, he thought bitterly. Eventually he arrived at Quark's, and took a deep breath as he scanned the room.

Quark's was busy, but not too loud. Morn was propping up the bar as usual, and there were a couple of lively games of dabo in play. Julian was sitting at a table in the corner, smiling to himself as he worked on his padd, drinking a hot mug of tea. Garak walked self-consciously around the tables to his friend.

"Ah, Garak," said Julian, with a gentle smile. "It's nice to see you."

"Yes, er, you too," said Garak, sitting opposite him.

Julian brushed his padd to the side so that he could give his friend his full attention. "How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. I've just been so busy lately with my parents and Dr Zimmerman, I've barely had a moment's peace!"

"Ah yes, of course." Even his past in the Obsidian Order could hardly have prepared Garak for the difficulty of hiding his utter bewilderment at Julian's ability to pretend nothing had happened. "I'm sure you're glad for some peace and quiet?"

Julian chuckled. "Peace and quiet? I'm a doctor, Garak! And a very hungry one at that. Are you ready to order some food?"

Garak's churning insides were slowly coming to a rest as Julian's friendly demeanour put him more at ease, but he still didn't feel like eating.

"I think I'll just have some red leaf tea for the time being."

Julian looked up at his friend. "Are you sure? I hope you're not coming down with anything."

"I assure you Doctor, if I were coming down with something you'd be the first to know."

Julian's eyes were questioning, as though he wasn't quite sure if the Cardassian was telling the truth.

"Okay, well, I hope you won't mind watching me eat," said the doctor, rising and heading to the bar to order.

Garak's gaze followed him across the room, his eyebrows furrowed. The man was an enigma; a beautiful, confusing mystery just begging to be untangled. He wondered whether he should try to get Julian to acknowledge their evening of sex, or whether perhaps some things are best left alone. No, he decided; most things are best given little nudges in the desired direction.

"A lot on your mind?" asked Julian as he sat back down again. Garak had been too lost in thought to notice him return until he felt a slight breeze and caught a faint trace of his scent as he brushed past. The Doctor smelled good, even if he had been working hard all morning. He had an indescribable, unique scent which touched something inside of Garak, made his heart race and his belly do somersaults.

"You... could say that," he replied carefully. "Still, business has been good recently."

"Oh? Well, I'm glad to hear it." Julian's stomach growled.

"Yes, I've had some interesting customers – a pair of Klingons, a Vulcan..." He paused. "I had been hoping I might see you around."

"I have been busy, you know," he said. A Bajoran waitress with pretty eyes and a low-cut top set a plate down in front of him.

"Hasperat?" she said uncertainly, looking between the two men.

"Ah yes, thank you very much," said Julian, his eyes lingering just a bit too long on her body, before tucking in.

"Well, it was nice to see you that evening," he tried again, finding himself unusually flustered. He wished those deep brown eyes would linger on _his_ body like that. "Must have been a few weeks ago now." He knew it was forty six days exactly.

As Julian stuffed the hasperat into his mouth, his eyes rolled to the side as he thought. He swallowed a large mouthful and said, "Come again?"

Garak slyly looked around to make sure they wouldn't be overhead. "I met you here by chance after work. You were meant to be playing darts with Chief O'Brien, but he didn't turn up. We had dinner at the Vulcan restaurant."

"I'm sorry Garak," said Julian, his eyebrows raised. "You must be thinking of another time."

So, the doctor really had meant it when he'd asked the Cardassian not to tell anyone. Perhaps he found the whole affair distasteful somehow, and wanted it erased from memory. Humans were funny creatures after all; though they tried hard to eliminate all forms of prejudice, a few traces of old taboos were yet to be shed.

"Perhaps I am thinking of another time," Garak agreed amiably. "Or perhaps I simply imagined the whole thing. After all, there's not much to occupy the mind of a simple tailor."

Julian had finished his hasperat, and was collecting the crumbs to eat on the tips of his fingers. There was a curious, confused expression on his face, and a disturbing thought presented itself to Garak. What if he had spent the night not with Julian Bashir, but the changeling that had impersonated him? The thought had occurred to him before in passing, but when he remembered the human's warmth, the smell of his sweat, the intensity of feeling... How could a changeling emulate all of that and more besides?

"I'm sorry, Doctor, I seem to be feeling unwell." Garak heard the words slip through his lips before he had time to process them. He had a sudden, powerful urge to be alone, or at least away from Julian.

"What's wrong? Is there anything I can -"

"No, no, it's quite all right. I just need to lie down for a while," he said. His humiliation brought up emotions not unlike those he felt in very small spaces. "It was nice seeing you, Doctor." He got up and in his hurry to get away, tripped over one of the chairs. He heard Julian calling after him, but all he could focus on was getting out of Quark's and back to his quarters.

* * *

Garak had spent most of the night tossing and turning, and the small amount of sleep he had managed was plagued by nightmares about Julian and the other Starfleet officers discovering what he had done. He woke up full of adrenaline, with quick, shallow breathing. He let out a heartfelt sigh of relief as the dreams faded, but the memories of his nightmares were quickly replaced with fresh worries. Julian would put the pieces together eventually, there was no doubt about that. What he needed now was damage limitation.

By the time he dragged himself to his shop and opened up, he felt as though he'd already been working all day. He took a few long swigs from a bottle of Kanar he'd been saving behind the counter, and had a look at the day's work ahead of him. There was nothing too unusual or taxing – just a few adjustments to make here and there – but it was far more work than he felt like doing.

Slowly, he pulled the first item, a Bajoran dress uniform, towards him to inspect. He picked apart some of the stitching, before pinning it back together, ready to make adjustments. He heard footsteps approaching, and started as he noticed the doctor standing in front of him, jabbing a pin painfully into his thumb.

"Hello, Garak," he said stiffly. "I'm sorry if I surprised you."

"It's fine, Doctor. It's always nice to see you," he replied, continuing with his work, unable to quite meet Julian's eye.

"Well, I thought I'd just pop in on my way to sickbay," said Julian, cheerfully ignoring his friend's odd behaviour. "I wanted to see if you were feeling any better."

"Thank you, Doctor, I'm quite all right." He was focussing intently on the gleaming silver pins. "Is there anything else?"

Julian ran a hand through his unusually messy black hair. "Actually, Garak, there was something." He cleared his throat. "Well, I've been thinking about my imposter, and I wondered if... You had much to do with him?"

It took a lot of effort for Garak to swallow, before he asked, "May I hazard a guess that you're referring to the evening I mentioned yesterday, which seems to have slipped your mind?"

"Well, I suppose I was just... intrigued," Julian said, his cheeks burning. "I hope the changeling didn't do anything to offend or embarrass you." A teasing smile grew on his lips. "Oh! I think I've got it... Did he wine you and dine you?"

Garak shot the doctor a withering look. "Are you enjoying this, Doctor?"

Julian chuckled. "A little," he said, but he quickly stopped smiling as the Cardassian glared. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"As a matter of fact, he did wine and dine me," said Garak. He was almost surprised at his own words, but if the doctor was going to find out what happened, it would damn well be on his terms. He cleared his throat, fiddling with the pins. "We had a good time, and at no point did I suspect that he wasn't you."

Julian was staring at him in stunned silence.

"And now," continued the Cardassian, "you've come to my shop to humiliate me." He was trembling. "Do you have anything more to say?"

Julian was quiet for a moment. He rubbed his chin with pensive eyes, then simply shrugged. "I'd say my imposter must have been rather convincing."

Garak narrowed his eyes, speechless, wondering what the doctor's words meant. Julian smiled easily back at him.

"Garak," he said quietly. "I do very much enjoy your company. Whatever you did with my imposter... I can only imagine how embarrassing it must have been to realise that it wasn't actually me, but you weren't the only one fooled. My imposter nearly blew up the sun, for God's sake."

"Your point being?"

Julian's cheeks were positively glowing. He was shifting his weight awkwardly from foot to foot. "Well... Perhaps the _real_ Julian Bashir could wine you and dine you? Perhaps to make up for whatever my imposter did?" His eyes were desperate, almost pleading, and it was all Garak could do to stop his jaw from dropping. "I mean, only if you'd like that of course."

"Well, _well_ , Doctor! This is most... unexpected." His shoulders visibly relaxed, and his smiling grey eyes finally locked onto Julian's. "I'd be honoured."

Julian's lips stretched into a wide grin. "Can I meet you after work?"

Garak nodded, and as the doctor smiled and turned to leave, he said, "Just a minute, Doctor – I think you're forgetting something."

"Oh?"

Julian didn't have time to think about it; Garak pulled the gorgeous, soft human close and their lips properly met for the first time. Garak inhaled deeply, trying to drink in as much of Julian as he could before they had to part. The real Julian was warm and beautiful, and his mere scent aroused a fire in Garak like nothing he'd felt before.

When the doctor finally tore himself away to work, the evening seemed achingly far away, but finally Garak was content. He got back to work, humming happily to himself, a permanent smile stretched across his face in anticipation of seeing the doctor. Even a visit from Gul Dukat himself wouldn't have fazed him.


End file.
